How to be a good leader
Business managers are known for being good leaders. However, being a manager does not necessarily mean being a good leader!
Being a leader means facing your decisions and accepting the consequences. It means staying in line with your responsibilities therefore allowing you to earn the respect not only of your team but also of your peers.
To be a good leader, you need to know yourself both personally and professionally. You must know your strengths and weaknesses.
The most common mistakes to avoid are the following:
- Focussing more on problems than solutions
- Thinking you know everything
- Not being available to your team
- Using employees as machines or tools
- Not listening
- Being self-centered
- Not delegating
These are the qualities of a good leader:
Communicate
Share with your team your goals, your objectives. Explain your intentions in a
positive way.
Listen
Learn to listen to others. Show interest in your team. Ask them what they
think. Find out what’s on their mind. Be respectful of their opinions.
Seek their input
Don’t be afraid to ask them about you. Do not fear criticism. On the contrary,
it will allow you to grow, to analyze your management skill. A good leader will
know to surround himself with people who have an opinion, ideas, solutions.
Be strategic
Learn to go beyond technical details. Position yourself and take the time to
get an overview of your business. This will allow you to make much more
informed decisions.
Speak using US instead of I
Saying US instead of brings a feeling of belonging to your team. You become a
whole, a group of people working in the same direction and having the same
goals. Thus, you will have a much stronger business.
Be organized
Organization is also part of the leader’s qualities. If you let the tasks bury
you, your whole team will suffer.
Have empathy
Empathy is a very important quality. The time for rigid and cold bosses is
over.
Being a good leader means taking into account the needs of y our team, their
mood and accepting that there are days when your employees will be less productive.
Finally, are you a good leader?
We like to leave you with little tests. There is nothing scientific about them, but it gives us an idea of where we are.
This first test is by Phillip Carter and Ken Russell (available in French only):
https://test.psychologies.com/tests-travail/tests-de-reussite/etes-vous-un-leader
Here is a second test (also only available in French):
https://www.jobboom.com/carriere/savoir-etes-leader-devenir/
Do you have doubts about your qualities as entrepreneurs? Do not hesitate to contact us so that we can direct you to a team that will be able to guide you!
Chantal Thibodeau,
President
Comptabilité sur mesure